What We Are
by Footloose Poets
Summary: Labels are natural. Labels are human. Yugi's bond with the Pharaoh is anything but. Faced with an issue he's afraid to discuss, Yugi refuses to go to the spirit for help and Yami is immediately suspicious. Oneshot.


**First time writing in the YuGiOh fandom. I'm relatively new to the fandom as a whole but I'm loving every second of being a part of it!**

**If you read my Ranger's Apprentice fanfiction and am wondering why I haven't updated any of them, please see my profile.**

**This is a situation I came up with while contemplating the nature of Yugi and Yami's relationship, because their bond is so incredibly beautiful. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Yami, it's creepy to watch people sleep."

"Even when it's your Hikari?"

"_Especially_ when it's your Hikari."

As he heard the spirit sigh, Yugi finally rolled over to face him. His dark's appearance truly reflected his name as he stared from the study chair, his angular features bathed in shadow and his eyes seeming to glow. He'd been sitting there for over half an hour now. Yugi thought he'd go away if he was convinced the boy was asleep, but apparently not.

"Aren't you tired?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"Aibou, I'm a three-thousand-year-old disembodied spirit of a Pharaoh. I have no reason to require sleep, and therefore never get tired," the man replied coolly.

Yugi groaned and rolled back to face the wall. He pulled the sheets up to his chin in the hopes of coaxing himself to sleep. He lay there for a while longer. A car drove by outside. He could still feel those piercing crimson eyes on the back of his head and it made his teeth clench.

What was Yami's problem? Could he not take a hint? Not that Yugi's annoyance was a hint so much as a blaringly obvious plea at this point. Yugi groaned.

"_Why_ are you watching me?" he asked, once again rolling over to face his Yami.

The man frowned in what Yugi could only read as contemplation. He turned his gaze to the window of the small bedroom, mulling over his light's question. For a moment Yugi was sure he was just successfully trying to irritate the boy even further, but it soon became clear he really _was_ considering the answer.

Eventually, he shrugged. "Knowing you're sleeping peacefully is reassuring, Aibou."

Yugi just stared at him. He blinked. There were several questions he wanted to ask in response to that statement. He'd wondered them all before, but right now he didn't think he had the energy to start what would no doubt be an awfully long and complicated conversation. Yami returned his stare quite innocently.

"Well, it's keeping me up. Could you… I don't know… stay in your Puzzle tonight? Please?" Yugi asked quietly.

Yami sighed. "Very well, Aibou. I don't want you to lose sleep because of my deep concern for your safety."

And… the guilt trip. Why was Yugi so vulnerable to that? He watched the spirit disappear with a flash, the Millennium Puzzle on his bedside table glinting dully in the darkness.

_Goodnight, Yami_, he said across their mind link, now suddenly concerned he may have offended him.

_Sleep well, Little One_.

* * *

"There's something you're not telling me, Aibou."

Yami frowned, hands folded over his chest as he leaned easily against the doorframe, watching Yugi do his homework. He'd long since given up helping his hikari with those cursed algebra questions. They were awfully complicated for the man to grasp – and Yami _knew_ he was intelligent.

"If there was a problem, you'd be the first to know," Yugi replied absently. "I promise."

His dark obviously wasn't satisfied with this response, because the boy could feel his mind being gently probed through their link. He immediately cut his yami off before he could get anywhere. He sensed the man's hurt and sighed, but said nothing.

"Now I _know_ you're not telling me something," the spirit said gently.

Suddenly he was leaning lazily with his elbows on the desk, right beside Yugi. He looked down at the maths questions he was working on, but looked away before they made him feel too stupid. Yugi ignored him.

"It hurts me that I can't help you, Aibou," Yami tried.

He struggled to remember a time when his young light had been so closed off. Yugi was always open about his emotions – if only to his other half. Trying to manipulate the boy into telling him this apparently very important secret was a novel experience for the ancient spirit and frankly, he wasn't sure he was doing very well at it. He leaned in closer to his hikari, hoping for a reaction. He could now feel the boy's shoulder against his own, but he knew the sensation would only be one-sided in his current spectral form. However, this didn't prevent Yugi from noticing and he blushed, awkwardly shifting his seat away a foot or two.

"Yami, stop being weird, I'm trying to do my work," he snapped, staring furiously at his book.

Yami's lip curled in distaste and he stood up, eyes narrowing.

"I'll leave you be, then," he said quietly.

However, unlike the end of their conversation last night, he didn't leave. He simply plonked very ungracefully onto Yugi's bed and watched the boy, arms crossed. If his hikari was going to be uncharacteristically painful, then he would too. He even decided to hum – very loudly. He wasn't sure what the tune was, but he was fairly certain he'd heard it blaring at Kaiba Land once. It wasn't exactly his taste, but it was definitely succeeding in its purpose. Yugi finally spun around to face him, teeth gritted.

"Do you _want_ me to fail school, Yami?" he growled.

"I _want_ you to tell me what's wrong, Aibou."

"Why?"

"Because…" Yami had to think about this. It wasn't so much that he didn't know – he simply wasn't sure what would most likely get Yugi to open up. "Because I care about you and want you to be happy."

Well, it wasn't the most thought-out reply he could have come up with, but he knew his hikari had a weakness for those kinds of comments. For a long moment, Yugi didn't react. Soon, his cheeks began to redden again and he turned back to his work. He clearly wasn't able to concentrate on it, and Yami smiled smugly – he was getting closer. Perhaps he was better at manipulating his aibou than he'd first thought.

Of course, he wouldn't be completely satisfied until he'd found out what was bothering his light. The boy was never this unpleasant and it left Yami feeling concerned.

"If you're not going to tell me, Aibou, I won't press the subject." He sighed. "But I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is."

And with that, Yami went back to watching his hikari intently. Yugi went back to ignoring him.

* * *

_GAME OVER_

The neon blue text flashed across the screen, Yugi's disappointing score displayed below it. He sighed dejectedly.

"Alright." Yami frowned. "Not the best score, but…"

"Yami, I didn't even make the third level. I hate first-person shooters!" Yugi shoved the gun roughly back into its holder on the side of the system.

He huffed and sat down at a bench in the corner of the room. He looked out at the busy arcade and wondered when Tea would get here. She was already twenty minutes late – and _she_ was usually the one who was always waiting for _him_. He smirked, picturing her annoyed expression every time her patience was tried. It was so very…

"…Shooting games aren't exactly about intellect and strategy." Yami was still speaking. "Although they do hone your reflexes. Not only that, but they'll help you think better under pressure. They're still worth practising."

"What? Oh… yeah." Yugi had already gotten over his bad score.

He knew he was just distracted at the moment. The phase would surely pass soon.

"This mood you've been in lately isn't helping your performance."

Of course, the phase would surely pass soon _if_ Yami didn't keep reminding him of it.

"I haven't been in a _mood_," Yugi murmured.

"Please, Aibou, we both know you've been acting strangely for the last week," his yami replied sternly.

"I'm _fine_," the boy insisted.

"You're _not_ fine. Just tell me what's _wrong_, Aibou."

The irritation in his voice was hardly veiled anymore. Yugi fell silent. He took a breath and dropped his gaze to the floor. Yami's frown deepened.

"… I can't tell you, Yami," Yugi finally mumbled.

His other half blinked at that. The boy sighed, avoiding the spirit's gaze. He knew he was only concerning Yami further, but there was no way he was telling him anything yet – not when he was still confused about it all himself.

His dark sat down beside him with a sigh. From the far end of the arcade, the faint tune of a beaten high score sounded, followed by boyish cheers. Yugi glanced indifferently in the direction of the noise.

"Is it… about Tea?" Yami asked.

Yugi's head snapped up, blood rushing to his cheeks, "N-no! What makes you think that?"

"You fancy her," the spirit shrugged, apparently unaware of the effect his comment would have on his young companion.

"I do not! I…" the boy trailed off.

What could he possibly say? _Was_ there anything? Whatever he said would just sound like the totally empty defence it was. He looked up to see Yami smirking playfully. Yugi just huffed.

"It doesn't matter anyway. She just wants to be friends," he said.

"Nonsense," his dark scoffed. "Not even Tea thinks about _just_ friendship all the time, I guarantee it."

"Well no, I guess," Yugi agreed. "But she wouldn't think about me."

"Why not?"

Yugi just stared at his other self, eyebrow raised. _Because she saves those thoughts for you_, he wanted to say. The boy recognised a streak of jealousy in his thoughts and wondered about it. Strangely, he couldn't figure out where it was directed.

"That's not the problem, anyway," Yugi grumbled.

"Well I can't _help_ you with the problem if you're not going to tell me what it is, Aibou," Yami said through gritted teeth.

He'd been patient for an entire week and it was wearing thin. He wanted his hikari to have the space he needed, but it was beginning to frustrate him that the boy had a problem and he was powerless to help him. That was his _job_ – to be there for his light. He felt just the slightest bit betrayed that Yugi had been keeping something from even _him_.

"…Yugi?"

They looked up to see Tea, offering a small apologetic smile to her classmate. Yugi stood up.

"Sorry I'm so late," Tea continued. "I had a hair appointment and they were running really behind."

"Oh," Yugi laughed, scratching his head. "Well, it looks… great, Tea. It's nice."

He could feel his cheeks burning. He hadn't really noticed anything different about Tea, but now that she mentioned it, her hair did seem a little shorter – although it didn't mar her beauty one bit. He stood there, watching her with a stupid smirk on his face for an awkwardly long time, until he was woken from his little stupor by his yami's voice in his ear.

"Now would be a good time to actually say something to her, Aibou," the spirit remarked.

Yugi started at this, his face reddening even further if possible. He apologised to Tea and invited her to their earlier promised game of DDR. It was the only way he seemed to be able to get her to come to the arcade anymore, and he wasn't game to ask her to the movies yet.

"_DDR?_ This will be interesting," Yami chuckled. "If I recall correctly, Aibou, you have trouble _walking _sometimes, let alone _dancing_."

_Not right now, Yami_, Yugi sent through their mind link; he wasn't going to continue their conversation verbally with Tea around. _Could we, you know, have some time alone?_

_Oh? I don't get to enjoy the date as well?_ Yami replied with mock indignation. Regardless, he retreated to his soul room.

_I-it's not a date!_ Yugi called after him, but he was fooling no one, and his other half was already gone anyway.

* * *

It was subtle, but there was definitely a newfound air of confidence in Yugi's stride as he returned to the Game Shop. The date had gone very smoothly and he was one step closer to actually – _possibly_ – telling Tea how he really felt about her. He smirked, remembering how she left little to the imagination whenever she made those extremely high kicks during DDR.

_Aibou_, Yami said through their link – the first time he'd spoken since Yugi asked for some privacy. _If you're going to think such things, could you try to block our link a little better?_

Yugi realised his other half had seen his fantasies – and for the first time since he'd known him, the spirit sounded a little embarrassed.

_Sorry_, he sent back. _You were just so quiet, I almost forgot you were there._

"I was trying to mind my own business," the spirit replied, appearing beside him. "You took hours, though. If you don't want me around for that long, you could just leave me at home, Aibou."

The slightest tinge of bitterness laced his words, and Yugi frowned. He would never dream of leaving the Puzzle behind for anything – he liked the comfort of knowing his yami was always with him, and it hardly seemed fair on the spirit to ditch him because he wanted time with his other friends. But…wasn't that what he had done anyway? Made Yami wait in the Puzzle while he went on a date?

"I'm sorry," he said earnestly, although he wasn't exactly sure how to make amends.

"Never mind, Little One," Yami grumbled. "A few hours in the Puzzle is nothing compared to the several millennia I spent in there before, providing I'm not _forgotten_."

There was that bitterness again. Had it really bothered him that much? It wasn't like he didn't spend a lot of time in the Millenium Puzzle anyway. Why was it suddenly a problem?

Unless… the difference was because Yugi had been spending time with Tea. But that couldn't be it – Yami couldn't be _jealous_, could he?

* * *

_Yawn…_

"Tired, Aibou?" Yami asked from his place lounging on Yugi's bed.

"Just a little," the boy admitted. "But I have to get this work done. I've been putting it off all weekend."

"Yes," the spirit sighed. "You're one to do that."

Yugi dropped his pencil and rolled his chair away from the desk to face his other half. "Wouldn't you? This work is unbearable."

Yami rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, muttering something about procrastination. Yugi turned back to his work but as always, this was the moment the spirit chose to speak again.

"I don't suppose your date with Tea was one reason you put off this work, is it?" he asked innocently.

Yugi's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure a few hours a couple days ago made little difference."

"I suppose." Yami rolled onto his side to look at his hikari. "What else could have distracted you?"

Yugi knew what this was. This was Yami's something's-up-and-I'm-going-to-find-out-what routine. He hadn't used it much before and hardly ever on his other self, but the boy knew it well enough.

"I'm not sure," Yugi sighed, playing along. "I guess I just keep hearing this nagging voice in my head and I can't seem to block it out."

He sensed his yami's slight indignation at that statement. He hoped it would be enough to keep the spirit from prying any further, but apparently not.

"I'm sure this _voice_ has only the best intentions in mind when it nags, Little One," he replied coolly.

"I'm sure it does," Yugi agreed.

Their link was now filled with irritation and he put up the best walls he could. He really did have to finish this algebra homework. It didn't help that he'd left it to the last minute and thought of it as the bane of his existence. Yami's refusal to leave him work was only making the seemingly impossible task even harder. For a while, neither of them spoke and Yugi was relieved. He kept working. Yami shifted behind him – getting up off the bed, he assumed. Yugi ignored him, but it was difficult when the spirit was suddenly leaning right beside him and watching him work.

Why did he keep _doing_ that?

Well, Yugi knew why; the spirit still hadn't given up yet. That would have been fine, but why did Yami always pick the worst times to try and have a conversation? Yugi shuffled his chair over a little, realising his other half was extremely close now.

"This algebra needs a lot of concentration, Yami," he mentioned, trying to be polite as his patience wore incredibly thin and, strangely, his face burned.

"Well, you're awfully distracted, Aibou," the man replied matter-of-factly. "Perhaps it's best if you leave it for a while and come back to it later? We can talk in the meantime."

"No, I think I can handle it."

"You're sure?"

"_Yes._"

"Because you'll likely work better if you're—"

"I'm fine."

There was a long moment of tense silence. Yugi realised he was gripping his pencil so tightly it was painful. He hadn't written anything for the last five minutes, but he certainly wasn't going to stop trying. He stared at the equation on the worksheet. He read along it until… there was a hand in the way.

Yami would never have just blatantly slapped his hand over Yugi's work; that was far too petulant behaviour for the usually very dignified spirit. Instead, he'd decided to lean his elbows on the desk in such a way that his hands _happened_ to lie right over the problem his hikari was working on.

"Yami," the boy said through gritted teeth. "I can't see the equation properly. Please move your hands."

The spirit said nothing. He didn't move. Yugi sighed and moved the paper over, but Yami conveniently shifted his position to land his hands right back where they were, looking out the window as if he didn't notice anything was amiss. Yugi pulled his history book out of his schoolbag beside him.

"I guess I'll just work on this instead," he said curtly, before doing something he regretted immediately.

It wasn't often that Yami was reminded of the fact he was immaterial in his spectral form. A lot of the time he was influenced by his surroundings as most people were. However, there was the occasional exception where something had to pass right through him because there was simply no other way. Usually, these were accidents where he happened to be in between two objects and couldn't be pushed aside – this was the first time, however, that it had been deliberate as Yugi slammed a book through his hand and onto the desk beneath it.

Hurt penetrated the barrier the boy had put up against his yami's link and his guilt only got worse. The spirit slowly withdrew his hand and stood up, backing away from his other self in silence.

"Yami…" Yugi promptly turned around and followed him. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Whatever for, Yugi?" Yami's eyes were hard – this wasn't a look he often gave his light, and it struck the boy immediately. "For shutting me out? For denying me the one duty I have in this existence? For kindly pointing out I'm not even _real_?"

Yugi swallowed. He stared at the spirit, at a complete loss for words.

"I-I… I'm sorry…" he said quietly. "I was just angry, I didn't—"

"It's more than that, Yugi." Yami had finally reached the end of his tether and now that he'd started he wasn't stopping until he was finished. "Something's been wrong with you for days and you won't tell me what it is! You've been in a foul mood and you're not _talking_ to me! I can't help you if you won't let me!"

By now he was mere inches from Yugi's face and his hands gripped the boy's shoulders with determination. His chest heaved with the effort he'd exerted as he waited for his stunned hikari to respond.

The spirit's passion was so strong the light could almost feel it as a physical presence. Yugi was in turmoil as he stared into those steely crimson eyes. What was he going to say? What _could_ he say? He felt the blood rushing to his cheeks and tears stinging his eyes. He tried to hold them back, but it was for nothing when he started sobbing a moment later.

Yami's expression faltered a little, but he wasn't going to back off – not when he was finally getting to the boy.

"What is it, Aibou?" he asked, far gentler than his tirade. "Just tell me."

Yugi stared at the floor, avoiding Yami's gaze. Shimmering trails of tears flowed down his cheeks. His face was incredibly red by now. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest with anxiety.

"I…" He swallowed to try and rein in his twisting stomach. "I don't… know."

"What don't you know?" his yami urged. "Please, tell me."

At last Yugi looked up at him. "I don't know what we are."

The spirit blinked.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He frowned.

Yugi dropped his eyes again. "I mean… I'm not sure what you are to me… I…"

The tears were fresh now. The boy couldn't continue. He pulled away from Yami, his other half relenting in his grasp easily as he watched Yugi move to sit down on his study chair. The light put his head in his hands and sighed heavily.

"… I'm sorry."

Yami slowly moved to kneel beside his hikari, still very unsure of what the boy was struggling with. He waited, afraid to say anything to put him off as he was clearly having enough trouble as it was.

It was several minutes before Yugi looked up again, this time with a lot more certainty. "I lo… I care about you a lot, Yami."

"As I do you, Little One," the spirit said without hesitation.

Yugi nodded, "Yeah, but… that's the problem."

"What is?"

"The care… I don't know what kind of care it is. We're more than friends, aren't we?"

Yami wasn't sure about this. "Yes, Aibou. I feel we are."

"But." The boy was eager to finish now. "I think we should be like family, but that feels weird. And lately I've wondered if we're… if why I'm confused is because… I think of you differently again…"

The dark stiffened. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again. He knew what his hikari was trying to say and he honestly had no idea what he thought about it.

Yugi groaned, mentally berating himself. "But I don't know. It's just so hard. I thought I could figure it out on my own and I didn't want to say anything yet because what if I said the wrong thing and you hated me? But can't do this anymore and I'm sorry…"

His head fell back into his hands, his shoulders slouched and every ounce of the courage he'd mustered just moments ago already destroyed. He was relieved he'd said what had been weighing on his shoulders for far too long but he wasn't sure it was going to last. He waited for his other half to say something; something, he suspected, that would completely sever the bond they'd spent so long building all because Yugi had been stupid enough to talk.

"So…" Yami said slowly. "You're not sure how to define our relationship?"

"No," the boy sniffed.

"And this is what's been bothering you all this time?"

"Yes. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know what you'd do. I just don't know what we are."

Yugi knew what was coming next. He didn't bother stopping the tears that rolled down his face. Everything else was out in the open now. He'd just have to grin and bear what was given to him.

"Yugi…" Yami started.

The boy just shrank further, wishing he could just disappear. Here it comes…

"Aren't we just yami and hikari?"

Yugi's heart skipped a beat. His head snapped up to look the spirit in the eyes.

"What?" he stammered.

"We share a soul, Aibou. We're connected in a way no one has been before. You're not sure how you feel because this is different to what any other human has," Yami explained, as if it were the most natural thing in the world and he wasn't sure why the boy didn't get it.

"…Y-yami and hikari?" Yugi repeated, trembling with an emotion he couldn't even name.

Yami smiled gently, "You don't have to give it a definition. You're my light, Yugi. Nothing else comes even close to being what we have."

Yugi was speechless. He wanted to tell his yami just how much that statement meant to him. He wanted to say something just as profound and heartfelt back. He wanted to say how overjoyed, relieved and content he now felt. There were so many things he wanted to say then, but he couldn't. He just wept.

He didn't need to say anything anyway – the spirit felt everything he felt regardless. They were, after all, hikari and yami.

* * *

**And there we have it. I'd love to know what you thought of characterisation and the like as this is the first time I've written these guys so constructive criticism is most welcome :) Thanks, and I look forward to feedback!  
**


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